Anyone into Astronomy?

Mercury · **on:** March 25, 2015, 11:43:42 AM

My birthday is Sunday, and after being pestered by my wife and mother for months now as to what I want, I gave in and told them I wanted a decent telescope. They won't buy me Multi's anymore because I'm too damn picky, but they told me to pick out the telescope I want within a certain price range and it's mine. The wife is releasing a couple bucks from our tax return or it wouldn't be possible, and I'm still only looking at beginner scopes.

I joined an Astronomy forum to research what I should get, man it's more complicated than finding a first good Multitool! I'm lost amidst a sea of refractors and reflectors, EQ mounts and AZ mounts, Dobsonians and Newtonians! I've learned more in the last few days about Telescopes than I thought possible.

Anyone here have a scope?

kkokkolis · **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2015, 12:11:54 PM

I am in astronomy and used most kinds of telescopes and eyepieces (strictly visual, sorry, no astrophotography).
What's your budget? What would you like to do with your telescope? How dark are the skies where you live? If not so dark, will you drive to a darker site?
Do you know Cloudy Nights? I am a moderator there. Perhaps you could ask the same question there.
http://www.cloudynights.com/index/

I have several scopes, refractors, reflectors, Maksutovs and Schmidt Cassegrain, with and without GOTO. And an eyepiece case of 40 pounds and binoculars and a lot of stuff.

Mercury · **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2015, 12:53:23 PM

Wow, sounds like you have a fortune invested there!

To answer your question, I'm not sure of my budget as it's all coming from gift money from family members. I would say it's safely above $200 but not much more than $250. There are a few decent scopes in that price range from what I have been told, I just can't decide on mount. I am nearly convinced I need a Reflector but I can't decide if it should be on a Dobsonian mount or an Equatorial mount. I'm not intimidated by the EQ mount at all, I watched a tutoral vid on how to set it up and I understand completely how it works. It's actually pretty awesome and if I don't get one starting out then I certainly will once my financial situation clears up.

I'm purely interested in visual observing, at this point Astrophotography doesn't interest me. I want to be able to observe the Moon of course, and planets, and definitely the Messier objects.

My skies are Bortle 4 to 5 from what I can gather, so pretty good viewing conditions.

Mr. Whippy · **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2015, 01:29:02 PM

I'm a Virgo...

Mercury · **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2015, 01:32:29 PM

Not the same thing Nate!

kkokkolis · **Reply #5 on:** March 25, 2015, 02:57:36 PM

Please forget EQ mounts. You need more than 350$ for a decent one, without the telescope. And you only need it for astrophotography. Lightweight mounts vibrate and shake badly.
So it is a Dobsonian Reflector. For your budget youcan only buy a 5" reflector, which is nice for a start. In the US it is called Astronomers Without Borders OneSky Newtonian, 130mm http://www.skyandtelescope.com/wp-content/uploads/OneSkyReflector.pdf, http://www.gizmag.com/astronomers-without-borders-onesky-starter-telescope/30111/. In Europe it is sold as Skywatcher 5.1" Heritage and I have one, so I can tell you that it is great, much better than EQ or AZ mounted telescopes of various sizes at double the price. The dobsonian mount is precise and rock sturdy.
Here is mine, with a lightshield I made for it, out of Kydex. It has two eyepieces you can really use but you might also upgrade them with time.

kkokkolis · **Reply #6 on:** March 25, 2015, 03:05:24 PM

Here I am with its bigger brother, the 12", on mount Helmos.

Similar to the 5" but with fixed tube are the Orion Starblasts 4.5" and 6" at 200 and 300$, which I include since I don't know where you can find the AWB OneSky.

http://www.optcorp.com/orion-starblast-4-5-reflector-telescope-10015.html
http://www.optcorp.com/orion-starblast-6-astro-reflector-telescope-9926.html

I would get the 6" which is f/5, since f/4 is very hard on cheap eyepieces.

powernoodle · **Reply #7 on:** March 25, 2015, 03:11:20 PM

As a side note to this conversion, you can see the International Space Station without a telescope. It is plainly visible with the naked eye. Quite amazing. http://spotthestation.nasa.gov/

Mercury · **Reply #8 on:** March 25, 2015, 03:11:28 PM

Great posts, thanks!

I have been ogling the Starblaster 4.5, as it gets tons of favorable reviews everywhere. Due to my budget constraints it is my frontrunner for Newt Reflectors at the moment.

I'm also considering the Orion Starblaster 90mm AZ refractor, it's well within my budget and I've read a good amount of favorable reviews on it as well. Any thoughts?

kkokkolis · **Reply #9 on:** March 25, 2015, 06:11:57 PM

Only for moon and planets. 130 has double surface than 90 and the field of view is big enough to enjoy starfields and star clusters also. The mount of the 90 is shaky and the long tube provides torque on it.

Mercury · **Reply #10 on:** March 26, 2015, 02:24:03 AM

That makes sense. I do like the idea of observing starfields. I caught a naked eye glimpse of the Pleiades and that's what got this all started. I can't wait to view them through a scope.

Thanks for all the help kkhokkolis, I appreciate it. I'm sure to have plenty more questions and I'm only getting started at the astronomy forum so it's not quite as friendly as here yet.

Grant Lamontagne · **Reply #11 on:** March 26, 2015, 03:35:21 PM

I have an ancient Tasco telescope that I got probably when I was about 13 or so. Man I loved looking through that.

You see photos of the planets and you think that's neat, but it's not the same as actually seeing them for real. I can honestly say that I have seen Jupiter's big red spot with my own eyes, along with two of it's moons, although for the life of me I couldn't tell you which they were.

Also, being able to see the moon and it's features as if you were there... I can honestly say that anyone who is not fascinated by astronomy has probably never actually observed planets through even a moderately powerful telescope.

Def

Mercury · **Reply #12 on:** March 26, 2015, 04:38:20 PM

I agree, I'm fascinated and I've only seen the moon through low power binoculars! I really excited to get my scope and start seeing some cool stuff.

kkokkolis · **Reply #13 on:** March 26, 2015, 08:35:58 PM

Wait to see Veil Nebula under dark skies at 2100m. Fairylike. Or Andromeda at 4:00AM, completely dark adapted. Or just plain old Saturn, with his rings inclined. Or the king of all sky objects, Orion Nebula, even from the center of the city (make that Magellan cloud for Aus and NZ).
You can see all that with around 5" diameter. But I insist to save a bit and get the OneSky 5" or the Starblast 6", not the 4.5".
The OneSky mount can be used with other tubes too. Here with my small 4" Maksutov.

I think the same goes for Orions, but never had one to check it out.

Mercury · **Reply #14 on:** March 27, 2015, 03:32:16 AM

I'm stuck at the moment between the 4.5 and 6 inch Orion Dobsonians. I have to wait and see how much I end up with, because I want to make sure I get both the 25mm and 10mm plossls and a 2x barlow, and neither of those come with all that so I might have to get the 4.5 just to stay in budget. I'm not going to lie, I'm not the most patient person in the world so if I can't afford the best option right now then I'm gonna buy a good pair of binoculars and then it will take even longer to get my scope!

SAK Guy · **Reply #15 on:** March 27, 2015, 04:01:07 AM

Many a summer evening I've spent hours gazing at the Teapot in Sagittarius with a pair of binos! Even when you get a scope, you're going to need a nice pair of 7X50's.

Mercury · **Reply #16 on:** March 27, 2015, 04:01:49 AM

Yea that's the trouble! I need too much stuff!!

SAK Guy · **Reply #17 on:** March 27, 2015, 04:16:29 AM

Mercury, I wanted to add that kkokkolis has given you excellent advice in this thread!!!!

Kudos kkokkolis!!

Mercury · **Reply #18 on:** March 27, 2015, 04:34:53 AM

I agree, he's been extremely helpful, but much like with Multi's good advice tends to make me want to spend more money!!!!

kkokkolis · **Reply #19 on:** March 27, 2015, 07:25:20 AM

In 2009 I had a budget of 300€-400€ for my first telescope. I finally spent more than 1000€ for a Celestron Nexstar 6" SE and finally around 15000€ until now. And after my first buy I bought most stuff used, so they would cost me around 25000€ new. But you don't need that much to enjoy astronomy, you can just use an app in your smartphone or a map and your eyes.
The most precious thing, which money can't buy (unless you retire and buy a house in the Arizona desert) is dark unobstructed clear skies with low humidity.

Mercury · **Reply #20 on:** March 27, 2015, 09:37:01 AM

Well put. I have good skies, and for now i am happy with whatever i can get my hands on to get a better look.

kkokkolis · **Reply #21 on:** April 02, 2015, 09:40:07 PM

Here it is, the OneSky in the US for 200$.

http://store.astronomerswithoutborders.org/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=5&products_id=4&zenid=e4rnv8p365tbpd4o6pc7h6tjv2

SAK Guy · **Reply #22 on:** April 02, 2015, 10:14:29 PM

That's a nice scope for the money!!!

Mercury · **Reply #23 on:** April 03, 2015, 01:56:26 AM

I'm having a hell of a time deciding here. I don't have much room, so I need a compact setup. I am still hovering over the XT6 dob and the Starblast 90mm. The starblast refractor gets some rave reviews, and it's going to be easier to set up for me than any classic DOB, as I have to carry it wherever I'm going to view because I don't have a yard. My wife is really wanting me to get something small enough to carry on an airplane for our trip this summer to Colorado and Montana, so now I'm looking at splitting funds and getting one of the two I mentioned along with Orion's little Starmax 90 Mak-Cass. It's small enough to carry on to a plane and still get great views of Solar system objects. I am leaning heavily towards the refractor though, because I know I can afford it. While I like the price of the Onesky, I don't like the collapsible tube. Would one of Orion's 130 newts be a good fit as well?

kkokkolis · **Reply #24 on:** April 03, 2015, 06:16:45 AM

All tabletop telescopes are small. You will need to travel with a box because they are somewhat fragile.
Maksutocs are very nice bur since the 90 has a smaller diameter it is mostly for bright objects, the moon, planets and daytime terrestrial views.

Mercury · **Reply #25 on:** April 04, 2015, 07:51:15 PM

Ok, I finally decided on just pulling the trigger and I ordered an Orion XT8. My budget got a bit bigger than I expected(generous family!) and I was also able to order a pair of Celestron skymaster 15x70 binoculars and a tripod for travel.

I feel like I skipped a step or two here, and went for the big gun out of the gate! Ok, maybe it's not a cannon but it's surely not a peashooter either.

kkokkolis · **Reply #26 on:** April 04, 2015, 08:06:16 PM

The 8" f/6 is an excellent choice, I have the Skywatcher version permanently in the summer house.
The Celestron are a good buy, although they have some quality problems. I hope you get a good specimen. You can hanhold them for brief views but to really enjoy them they need a tripod. But I guess you'll do what I did until I sold them after buying the Canons. Use the 8" regularly and the 15x70 mainly for wide objects like the Pleiades and Andromeda (they are good for terrestrial btw).
Enjoy!

SAK Guy · **Reply #27 on:** April 04, 2015, 08:17:50 PM

Congrats!

Mercury · **Reply #28 on:** April 04, 2015, 08:52:10 PM

I'm really excited and glad my budget ended up where it did. I've been messing around in stellarium all morning checking out what I can see with my new setup.

kkokkolis · **Reply #29 on:** April 04, 2015, 08:55:13 PM

May I suggest the Pocket Sky Atlas and a red light (or regular light with red filter)?

http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Telescopes-Pocket-Atlas/dp/1931559317

http://www.instructables.com/id/Astronomers-red-light-Maglite-mod/

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